Consequences of Thoughtless Wishing
by Lady Devinity
Summary: Based off the rooftop arc in Pika la Cynique's "Girls Next Door." Christine has just accidently wished Raoul away to the goblins. But what if Jareth couldn't just bring him back and Christine instead must solve the Labyrinth? This may be what happens...
1. Chapter 1

**Consequences of Thoughtless Wishing**

_Dark Lady Devinity_

**A/n: **This is based off of Pika la Cynique's _Girls Next Door_ series with some details thrown in from AsheRhyder's _Roommates_ series. In particular, this is from the arc (pages 87 to 99) where Erik kidnaps Sarah in the hopes that he can get Christine to break up with Raoul permanently. Christine wishes Raoul away to the goblins (accidently because he was freaking out over finding out Erik was still in Christine's life) and then she and Jareth go off and "rescue" Sarah. Jareth then returns Raoul after the whole thing has been dealt with.

However, what would happen if Jareth couldn't just return Raoul? "What's said is said" and all that. One would think wishes were a binding contract. So this is my take on what would happen if the consequences of the movie were always the consequences of that particular wish.

First bit of dialogue is taken directly from the comic.

**One**

Christine stood in her apartment, frustrated at the situation she had found herself in. Erik was holding Sarah ransom on the rooftop and Christine herself had just wished Raoul away to the goblins. Could her day get any worse?

"And just what, pray, am I supposed to do with a spastic Frenchman in my Labyrinth?"

Yes, it could. Christine knew that Jareth was standing behind her in full Goblin King Regalia.

"Oh, sorry, Jareth. He found out about Erik being here, and he flipped out. Could you just keep him out of the way and out of trouble until I can sort this all out?" Christine asked. She figured she had better rescue Sarah before even contemplating Raoul.

"Oh, keep him I shall, my pretty. Your precious fiancé will become one of us, forever…"

Christine raised an eyebrow at the Goblin King. She wondered if he really thought he could intimidate her. Then he continued, saying "unless you trade your roommate against him."

Really? Unbelievable. Christine sighed. "Okay, you guys? Seriously have to stop that. I think you missed an episode, Jareth. It seems Sarah is this week's favourite currency of exchange…"

She handed the bemused monarch the ransom note. Jareth's face darkened and he started to glower. Indeed, he actually seemed quite dangerous and Christine wondered if she should be frightened or annoyed.

"I will kill him in thirteen hours' time." Jareth said between gritted teeth. "As for you, Miss Daae, you have certainly created quite the mess for me."

"Why thirteen hours? And why are you blaming me?" Christine asked.

"There are rules that I must obey as a creature of magic and of story." Jareth said darkly. "If someone wishes that the goblins come take another away then I have no choice but to remain in the Labyrinth and watch over the wished away party until it is time to turn them into a goblin. I came here to see if you were willing to run the Labyrinth. I am not allowed enough time to save Sarah."

"Excuse me?" Christine asked. "Can't you just forget about Raoul for now and give him back later? Anyway, I don't need your help in order to finally get some sense into Erik and save Sarah. I doubt he would really hurt her anyway."

"Erik is perfectly capable of hurting Sarah if he's in one of his moods. As for ignoring and returning your fiancé at a later date, it is not possible. You wished your fiancé away to the Goblin Castle beyond the Goblin City. As such, you must either run the Labyrinth in an attempt to save him or give him up to me completely. That is how the story goes and that is how it must be done." Jareth explained.

"WHAT? Then what was that crack about trading Sarah for Raoul?" Christine asked.

"Wishful thinking. Had you said yes I would have conjured some fulfilling daydream before informing you that such a trade was not actually possible. I can tempt you to give up on Raoul and make your greatest dream come true but that is all I can do."

That was certainly not what Christine was expecting. Still, it wasn't hard to figure out what action she should take. Sarah could handle herself just fine and it wasn't like Sarah hadn't been through worse. Also, unlike all those Erik had murdered, Sarah was his friend. That had to have some importance for him. But Raoul wouldn't know what to do with himself in the Labyrinth and she didn't want to marry a goblin. Raoul needed her more.

"What do I have to do to get Raoul back?" Christine asked. She should have paid more attention when Sarah showed her the movie but she had been completely distracted by Jareth's criminally tight pants. She wasn't even sure if she had seen the entire movie. Sarah usually only brought it out when she wanted to make a point about something.

"You have thirteen hours to run the labyrinth, if you so choose, in order to rescue him. If you fail or choose to leave him there he shall become one of us forever. You must make your way into the Goblin Castle itself. But I won't help you. I'm not allowed to. I am even required to hinder your efforts." Jareth said. "I suggest you give up on the boy and save Sarah instead. I doubt you'll succeed in saving him. Only Sarah has ever defeated the Labyrinth."

"I can't lose Raoul. I love him and I didn't mean to wish him away. It just slipped out." Christine said.

"What's said is said." Jareth said, an air of cruelty in his tone. He was becoming less and less her quirky neighbour and more and more the cold, calculating monarch he really was. "Perhaps you, like Sarah, need to learn what consequences occur when you make wishes."

And as the Goblin King said "wishes" the world Christine knew vanished into dead, twisted trees and bleak dawn light. A labyrinth stood bleakly before her and she could make out the city in the horizon.

"Turn back, Christine. Turn back before it's too late." Jareth said to her.

"I can't." Christine said. Didn't he understand that?

"Such a pity." And suddenly, the Goblin King was gone.

Christine blinked and then sighed. She should have worn sensible shoes.

**XxX**

There were people that Jareth trusted and cared for. James Norrington wasn't exactly sure what he had done to be one of those people but he appreciated it. It was, after all, Jareth that took him in when he was drinking heavily and Javert threw him out. James wasn't sure he wanted to know what Jareth would have done if Erik had said that James wasn't allowed to live with them. The Goblin King most certainly had been displeased with Javert for a while during that whole fiasco. Still, James had not thought that Jareth thought highly enough of him to trust him with the task of saving Sarah.

James had been reading in his apartment (for once not visiting Erik and Jareth) when a goblin appeared in his living room. That was extremely unusual as James couldn't remember there ever being any goblins in his living room. The entire apartment was too dull for that. Then the goblin started waving around a note that it claimed was from the "boss-boss." That was even more unusual than the goblin being in James' living room as any time Jareth wanted James for something the sovereign would simply glitter-port himself into James' apartment. The admiral took the note and quickly read it. Jareth had quickly explained what Christine had wished for and what she had to do about it. He also briefly mentioned Erik kidnapping Sarah and that he needed James to go and rescue Sarah if she needed it. The original ransom note was included.

Maybe Jareth just thought it was James' destiny to rescue other people's girlfriends? Whatever the reason, Jareth needed him to do this and maybe Sarah and Christine did as well. Erik too, for that matter. James doubted the opera ghost was thinking clearly at the moment. And, of course, it might also have been because girls are scary and that was especially true for Sarah. If she wasn't tied up then Erik might be the one that needed saving.

"Javert, I'm going out." James called out to his roommate, who was in the kitchen.

"Oh? Where to?" Javert asked.

"You're not going to believe what Erik has gotten into his head this time."

**XxX**

Erik had been anticipating a worried, upset soprano coming to meet him on the rooftop. He wouldn't have been surprised to receive a disappointed look and a lecture either. However, he had not been expecting James to come face him while Javert, Legolas, Crowley, Aziraphale and Mrs. Lovett filed onto the roof with him to watch the spectacle.

"What are you going here?" Erik asked. "Where's Christine?"

"She couldn't make it. She's in the Labyrinth." James explained.

"What? Did Jareth kidnap her as revenge for my kidnapping Sarah?" Erik cried. 'How dare Jareth do something like that!' Erik thought, forgetting that he had done much the same thing.

"No. She accidently wished the Viscount away to the goblins and now she has to solve the Labyrinth before he's turned into a goblin forever." James said. "Jareth asked me to handle the situation you created here."

The phantom didn't know if he should be happy that Christine wished away her fiancé or upset that she would rather rescue him than confront Erik. However, Sarah stole everyone's attention when she sent her forehead colliding into the pole she was tied to.

"This is turning into such a bad night." Sarah groaned.

**XxX**

Christine looked up at the un-scalable walls outside the Labyrinth as she tried to find the entrance to the Labyrinth.

"This is turning into such a bad night." She groaned.

**TBC**


	2. Chapter 2

**Consequences of Thoughtless Wishing**

_Dark Lady Devinity_

**An: **Action sequences require work on my part as I'm a details-are-in-the-dialogue girl. So if anyone has any suggestions on what they'd like to see happen while Christine's running around the Labyrinth then let me know! This is a work of _fan_fiction based on a _fan_comic after all. So suggestions from the fandom are totally welcomed.

**Two**

The one advantage to having Sarah's goblin friends pop up unexpectedly into the girls' shared apartment was that Christine could recognise most of them on sight now and she knew a lot of their names. So she was relieved when, after staring at the un-climbable walls of the Labyrinth for about five minutes, Hoggle came around a corner. The dwarf was happily spraying some sort of glittering insect into oblivion.

"Hoggle!" Christine cried cheerfully.

Hoggle was not expecting to hear a young female voice call out to him. This was likely because the only young female voice that called out his name cheerfully was Sarah's and Sarah had never visited the Labyrinth except for the time she wished away her baby brother. It was not long before Hoggle's shocked expression turned into one of suspicion though.

"What are you doing here? Is Sarah with you? Did something happen to her?" Hoggle asked.

"Non, non. I wished away my fiancé by accident." Christine said, shrugging. "I suppose the rest is obvious."

"Don't want to marry a goblin, huh? Can't say I blame you. The girl goblins don't want to marry the boy goblins either." Hoggle said.

"Then how to they reproduce?" Christine asked with a grimace. She couldn't _not_ ask that question but she really did not want to know the answer either. Her imagination was threatening to run away with her.

Hoggle blinked. "Why do you think goblins steal babies? For fun? They certainly don't do it for Jareth. He hates the aggravation of constant screaming." The dwarf shook his head, marvelling at the idiocy of humans. "C'mon, I'll lead you to the castle. You'll have to face Jareth on your own though. Apparently it's in the rules."

"Merci." Christine said. "You aren't worried that Jareth will get mad?"

"Jarath told me once that if Sarah ever kissed me then he would make me into the Prince of the Land of Stench. Well, she kissed me. There is not much worse that can be done to me now that I have to go on royal visits to the Bog of Eternal Stench." Hoggle shivered in horror. "Besides, our mutual friendship with Sarah offers me some degree of protection from the king. But if you get us sent to that retched bog _I am leaving you behind forever!_"

"What's so bad about a bog that smells? Don't all bogs have some foul odours?" Christine asked.

Hoggle looked to the heavens as if he intended to speak directly to God. "Why do they always underestimate the power of a strong stench?"

In response to the overly dramatic display by the dwarf, Christine blinked slowly and wondered at the state of the mental health of Sarah's friends. This place was, after all, ruled over by a quirky, glitter ball of a fairy known as Jareth. What was the worst that could happen?

**XxX**

"How bad do you think it could possibly be? Jareth's simply a glittery, unusually tall fairy." Javert said. "Although troublesome and prone to illegal acts, he has never done anything truly dangerous."

"Have you ever been bitten by a fairy?" Sarah asked as James untied her from the pole on the roof. "They're not nice. And fae like Jareth are even worse. Have you ever seen my movie?"

"Sure. You monologued the pounce to death." Erik commented sadistically from his dark corner of brooding.

"Did you fail to notice me falling down forty feet into an oubliette with only _hands _to break my fall? How about the date rape peach? Or the serious risk of losing my little brother and forgetting he ever existed? Never mind the _giant robot with an axe!_" Sarah said, yelling the last bit. "Yeah, I said the right words. But I nearly died trying to get the chance to say them. The Labyrinth is a moving, living thing with an army of resilient goblins to protect her."

Then Sarah suddenly paled. Everyone thought that she had thought of a horrible, worse-than-death fate that Jareth might have ready to use on Christine that was not allowed in a family friendly film.

"What is it Sarah?" James asked nervously as the girl shakily got to her feet.

"He could send Christine to the Bog of Eternal Stench!" Sarah cried.

James had the sense not to laugh at that as he was close enough for the girl to kill if she decided that she did not appreciate his laughter. Especially now that her hands were free and she was starting to look furious. However, the others did laugh at her statement and loudly at that. Sarah's expression darkened considerably.

"How bad can that bog actually smell?" Crowley asked. "It cannot be worse than the sulfur pits in hell."

"You weren't there." Sarah said slowly and dangerously. Then she looked at James. "Do not make any cracks about how the French don't bathe and Christine shouldn't mind it. This is too serious for jokes. This is the Bog of Eternal Stench we are talking about."

James held up his hands in a sign of surrender. "Wouldn't dream of it. I know what it's like to tangle with magical creatures. Do you seriously think Christine is in danger?"

"Not from Jareth. And most of the goblins know her through me. But the fireys are dangerous if they decide she needs to lose some body parts. They don't mean to kill people but they don't understand that we're not like detachable Barbie dolls." Sarah said thoughtfully. "The bog is capable of ruining your life. The Labyrinth itself is probably what's truly dangerous. It has its own personality and Jareth simply manipulates what's already natural there. I'm worried for Raoul too. Although the biggest issue in his situation actually_ is_ Jareth. I don't think Jareth is going to handle Raoul's very natural reaction- to freak out- all that well. He seems to be alright with kids 'cause Toby was perfectly fine but adults are another thing entirely."

"How do you know so much about the Labyrinth?" Javert asked.

"Sometimes Jareth and I do have civil conversations. Also, Hoggle is really smart and he knows a fair bit about the Labyrinth." Sarah said.

"Can we get to the Labyrinth then?" Erik asked. He did not seem to appreciate all the talk about the mortal danger that Christine may be in. It did not help when Sarah reminded him of the scene in the movie where the girl nearly had her head ripped off by a firey. "I have a student to save and a roommate to kill."

"Maybe if Sarah asks Jareth nicely?" Crowley asked cheekily. Aziraphale nodded in agreement, completely missing what Crowley was hinting at.

"Or perhaps I could seek out my friends, who have the ability to visit me through any mirrored surface?" Sarah suggested.

**XxX**

Sarah led the way into her apartment as the rest of the cast followed behind her. They crowded around her in order to watch as she told her closest friends that she needed them. Ludo and Sir Didymus quickly came to the mirror and into the aboveground. Hoggle's image appeared in the mirror a few minutes later, after Sarah had just finished explaining everything to her other Labyrinth companions. He did not step into the aboveground though.

"I know what you need us for Sarah." Hoggle said before he moved to the side and out of the mirror's surface. Suddenly Christine was in his place, looking sheepish.

"I guess everyone knows now." Christine said. "This is all so silly."

"You'll never get through the Labyrinth by yourself, Chris." Sarah said. "I'm really glad you're with Hoggle though. This means that I don't have to look for you."

"What do you mean?" Christine asked.

"Well, obviously I'm going through this mirror and helping you save Raoul." Sarah said. "Sir Didymus, Ludo, show me how to do this please."

Sir Didymus took get pleasure in escorting his fair lady through the mirror. James, Erik and Javert all volunteered to go too so Ludo took all three men through the mirror. Legolas, Aziraphale, Crowley and Mrs. Lovett all waved goodbye.

"Wait, I should have asked you to bring me a pair of sensible shoes." Christine said.

"Just one moment." Aziraphale piped up helpfully. He was gone for a few seconds and then he tossed a pair of Christine's gym shoes into the mirror. The soprano gratefully caught them.

Then the mirror went back to its reflective surface as the group began their adventure into the heart of the Labyrinth.

**XxX**

The crystal went dark once Sarah and her friends took their first step into the Labyrinth. Jareth sighed and flicked his wrist, sending the crystal away. Although he was not fond of the idea that Erik, Javert and James were traipsing around his kingdom, he took comfort in Sarah's presence. All feelings for the girl aside, Sarah was a smart, capable thing with previous experience in the Labyrinth. She had been the only person to defeat it. Jareth hoped for his own personal sake that Sarah bested the Labyrinth and its ruler once again. In this case a loss was a victory for Jareth as he could not take another thirteen hours with the Viscount. Raoul had completely lost his head metaphorically, refused to believe anything Jareth said to him and then managed to get attacked by chickens.

If Raoul was the spark that renewed the Chicken Rebellion then Jareth was going to stick him head first into the Bog of Eternal Stench.

**TBC**


	3. Chapter 3

**Consequences of Thoughtless Wishing**

_Dark Lady Devinity_

**Three**

The best course of action would be to separate the group. Although he did want their victory to occur, Jareth was still duty-bound to make sure they failed. Sarah, Ludo, Hoggle and Sir Didymus had all been to the castle so it was important to get rid of them. And, more importantly, this was an excellent opportunity for Jareth to get back at Erik for causing this whole mess in the first place.

Twisting his wrist in a smooth motion, a crystal ball appeared in Jareth's hand. The monarch watched as the smooth surface of the crystal became opaque before a clear image of his neighbours, roommate and subjects appeared. Sarah was leading the way down the first part of the labyrinth: a long, straight hall that disappeared into the horizon in either direction. There were no visible turns or corners or doors.

"What kind of labyrinth just goes on forever in a straight path?" Christine asked as James, Javert and Erik tried to recall details about the movie.

"It doesn't." Sarah starting explaining. "You really need to not take things for granted here. There are pathways all over this place. You just can't see them. Take, for example this section of wall here."

Sarah walked forward. She pointed out a section where the wall was darker due to moisture. Then she grabbed some ivy that was growing down one side of the wet spot and pulled it away. She ran her fingers down the edge of the wall that had been revealed when she moved the ivy. There was a pathway.

"The reason that the other wall looks wet is because the wall is made from a slightly different type of brick. There's actually more glitter in it." Sarah said. Then the girl paused. "Erik, this entire world is made of glitter. _Everything_ is coated in it."

Erik twitched violently but he didn't say anything. Sarah then turned down one of the hidden paths and the others followed her. They eventually came out into a proper labyrinth-like area, with twisting stone walls. Sarah sighed.

"This is the part where everything gets difficult." Sarah explained. "You don't really realise how alive everything is until you get here and the walls move. Stay close together."

"How do walls move?" Christine asked.

"I don't know. I've never actually seen them move. They do it when you look away and they're pretty damn fast too." Sarah complained.

The group walked for a few minutes before faint strains of music reached their ears. Soon the music became louder and they could make out the voices of various goblins and Jareth. Sarah, used to the constant singing in the Underground, completely ignored it. Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus also paid little attention to the music. Javert and James blinked and shared a look but continue to stick close to Sarah and the creatures. Unfortunately, Erik and Christine were naturally attuned to music and both turned to look in the direction the sound was coming from. Christine realised what they had done far too late and when she turned around there was a wall in the path where Sarah and the others had just been.

Christine screamed, frustrated, and kicked the wall. Erik hurriedly went to the soprano to see what was wrong and that was how he noticed the wall.

"Gah!" Erik yelled. "This place is as aggravating as Jareth!"

Erik didn't mention that he had seen the movie and had forgotten this could happen. Although maybe he could find his way through the labyrinth based off of what he had seen.

**XxX**

"I thought I heard screaming." James said.

Sarah cautiously looked around, making sure she stayed close to the others. "I don't see Erik or Christine. They must have gotten separated."

"Well, isn't that just great? Don't we need to have Christine with us to properly solve the labyrinth?" Javert asked.

Sarah nodded. "Yeah. It doesn't matter if we make it to the castle as she's the one that made the wish."

"So what should we do?" James asked.

"We need to find Christine." Javert said. "Perhaps we should break up into teams."

"We'll have to fight our way through the city." Sarah said. "Ludo, Sir Didymus, can you go on to the Goblin City and ensure that there is a direct path we can take to the castle? I'd like to avoid going through another battle. If it takes a while to find Christine and Erik then we can't afford to lose that time. Javert, James, Hoggle and I will look for Christine and Erik."

"As you wish, milady." Didymus said, bowing. Ludo grunted an agreement.

"Do we really need the dwarf?" Javert asked.

"Hey!" Hoggle yelled.

"I've only run this labyrinth once." Sarah said. "Hoggle _lives_ here. We need a guide."

There was logic in Sarah's words and everyone agreed to the plan. Sir Didymus and Ludo left the group while the others pondered where they should start. James studied the wall in front of him and then looked over at Javert.

"Give me a boost, please. Maybe I could see a hint of the others if I could see over this wall."

Javert begrudgingly crouched down and let James climb onto his shoulders. Then the inspector carefully stood up while James put most of his weight against the wall. When Javert was stood as straight as he could with James' weight on his shoulders, the admiral put his hands on the top of the wall and hauled himself up on the ledge.

"See anything?" Sarah called up to him.

James shook his head. There was nothing to see but more labyrinth walls and the castle in the distance. Every time his eyes returned to a particular area, the pathway had changed.

"I think we completely lost them." James said.

Sarah chewed her lip. "I think I know where they're going to end up."

"Really?" James and Javert both asked.

Sarah nodded. "Jareth is bound to be really angry at Erik for kidnapping me. I doubt he's too pleased with Christine either right now. He's going to want to get back at them."

"Oh no. _No_!" Hoggle complained. "That is unfair. I refuse to go back there!"

"What's wrong?" James asked.

"Jareth's going to send them to the Bog of Eternal Stench." Sarah said, sighing.

**XxX**

Jareth smiled at the crystal. Sarah was so smart. Jareth did indeed plan to send both natives of France into the Bog of Eternal Stench. In particular, he was hoping to drop Erik head first into the actual bog water.

Suddenly, a goblin rushed into the throne room and started to wave his arms about in a panicked manner.

"What is it now?" Jareth asked.

"The giant baby has escaped!" the goblin cried.

"What?" Jareth yelled. "You were supposed to be watching him."

Jareth kicked the goblin aside and sighed angrily. Maybe he would drop Raoul head first into the Bog of Eternal Stench as well.


	4. Chapter 4

**Consequences of Thoughtless Wishing**

_Dark Lady Devinity_

**A/n: **I just wanted to point out that there won't be any Jareth/Sarah or Erik/Christine pairings in this although the one-sided canon feelings that exist in the comic will still be found here. I actually don't approve of the Erik/Christine pairing because dating your kidnapper seems more Stockholm Syndrome than anything resembling actual love and/or affection to me. And I feel for poor Raoul.

Just thought I'd point it out in case anyone was really hoping for some romance of that kind.

**Four**

Five hours later found Christine and Erik hopelessly lost in dense forest. Erik's hand was wrapped in a bandage torn from the hem of Christine's dress. The opera ghost had punched a door knocker in the face when the knocker refused to put its ring back in its mouth after Christine talked to it. Christine paused, flashing back to that moment an hour ago. They had come across two doors with a door knocker each that were shaped like faces. One door knocker had its ring in its ears while the other had it in its mouth. And the knockers could talk: Christine would never get over the fact that things she never expected to talk back did so frequently in the Labyrinth. Christine thought that statement "never take anything for granted" was a severe understatement. Erik had taken the ring from the one that keep it in its mouth so they could talk to it. Christine wondered why they simply didn't use the other door when the first door protested against taking its ring back. The other door knocker had its ring in its ears so it couldn't answer any questions as it couldn't hear them but it would still have functioned as a door knocker. And Erik wouldn't have bruised his knuckles.

Christine sighed. "We really don't know what we're doing, do we?"

"I don't know why we haven't seen Jareth yet." Erik said frowning. "I'm certain Sarah had run into him by now in the movie. But she fell down an oubliette. I'm sure that those door knockers were in the movie but wasn't there a part before that?"

"When this is all over I'm going to memorize James and Javert's movies just in case we ever end up in their worlds in the future." Christine complained.

"Where's the Labyrinth anyway? I never understood why there weren't maze walls everywhere." Erik responded. "But you're right about memorizing movies. I regret not memorizing this one."

Christine hummed in acknowledgement as she scanned the area. There really wasn't anything resembling a maze in the forest. All that she could see was trees, moss and glitter.

"You really love him don't you?" Erik asked.

"Who?" Christine asked.

"The viscount." Erik elaborated. "This whole place is just too much to try to handle for someone you don't care about."

"Of course I love him. I'm going to marry him. Besides, no one deserves to be turned into a goblin." Christine replied, not meeting his eyes. She was about to add that she'd run the Labyrinth for Erik as well when she heard a strange sound. Christine quickly turned and saw that Erik had vanished.

"This disappearance act better be Jareth's fault or I'm going to be angry Erik!" Christine yelled.

When there was no response to her threat Christine felt worry settle into her stomach. She could almost predict what a sulking opera ghost would do now but she didn't know how Jareth thought when he was a monarch and not a quirky neighbour.

"If you are just sulking then I'm going to continue on to the castle." Christine yelled. "You can follow me. If you're not hiding away like a child then… well, I don't know what to think but I'm sure Jareth won't hurt you."

Regardless of who was behind Erik's sudden disappearance act Christine knew not to expect an answer. Her only option was to continue forward and pray she was going in the right direction. Eventually she came out into a clearing. Christine frowned when she saw the fire burning in the center of the clearing and a pile of animal pelts lying near it. She was about to quickly cut across the clearing when the pelts started shifting. Christine screamed when the shapes resolved themselves into a furry humanoid shape. Her screams altered the creature to her presence and more creatures dropped down from the trees. One of the creatures detached its own head. The head then proceeded to _fly towards her._

"Looks like we got another girly! I wonder if her head is stuck on too!" the flying head said.

The other creatures started to chatter at each other and at Christine. Then they started in on a musical number. Christine screamed again- unlike Sarah, she couldn't just accept magical creatures as a fact of life- and slapped the flying head near her face so hard that it flew half away across the field. Then she took off running.

"Well I never! We have got to start teaching these freaky looking girls some manners!" yelled a voice from behind Christine. The soprano refused to look behind her in case the creatures were chasing her.

Christine quickly came to a rock wall that was blocking her path. The woman screamed and pounded her fists against the wall in fear and frustration.

"My dear, you'll tear up your beautiful hands if you keep doing that." A smooth English voice said.

Christine twirled around fast enough to give herself whiplash. "What were those things!?"

Jareth blinked. "The fireys? They're harmless."

"Their heads come off!" Christine cried.

"Yes and a slight bit more neatly than a Frenchman's head." Jareth said casually.

Christine's eyes widened at the reference. "Where is Erik?"

"Oh, you'll see soon enough." Jareth said, distractedly looking over her head.

Christine frowned. "What does that mea- AAH!" Suddenly the ground collapsed beneath her and Christine was sent careening down a dark tunnel. Just as quickly she was thrust out into bright light and foul air. When the smell hit her nose Christine instantly forgot that she was falling to what could potentially be her death. Then she landed on something soft albeit very boney.

When the mumbled French met her ears Christine instantly knew who she was sitting on. The soprano quickly stood up and helped Erik to his feet. Then both natives of France covered their mouths and noses in distaste.

"That is the worst thing I have ever smelled in my entire life. Rotting corpses in sewer water don't even stink this much." Erik groused.

"Where _are_ we?" Christine questioned.

"You can't tell by the smell? We're in the Bog of Eternal Stench." Erik said.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Christine warned.

"Go ahead. The smell of vomit would be like roses after this." Erik replied. "I remember this part of the movie because it was so silly. Never again will I think terrible smells are silly. Anyway, I think we need to go in that direction. Do not touch the bog. The smell apparently is eternal if it gets on you."

Christine nodded even as her eyes watered and she couldn't see what direction Erik was indicating. They quickly ran across the stony bank of the bog and came upon the remains of a bridge. Luckily there were stones in the bog that led to the other end of the broken bridge. Erik briefly explained where the rocks had come from in the movie before he quickly hopped across them. Christine thanked her sensible shoes before she also hopped across the rocks. Erik waited for Christine to land beside him on the bank and then he grabbed her hand and pulled her along as he started running. The duo quickly burst free of the bog and crashed hard into James and Hoggle. Erik and Christine's momentum knocked everyone over.

"Where are the others?" Christine asked as she disentangled herself from the pile of bodies.

"Didymus and Ludo have gone on to the Goblin City. We lost Sarah and Javert." James said as he climbed to his feet and hauled Hoggle to his.

Erik dusted himself off. "Why were you coming this way? It's a forsaken place behind us."

"Sarah was betting on Jareth sending you to the Bog of Eternal Stench, Erik." James said. "It's convenient that you two managed to stay together."

"I'm just glad I don't have to step foot in the bog now." Hoggle said in honest relief.

"So where do we go now?" Christine asked.

"We need to hurry and get to the Goblin City. Jareth has to send us all home regardless of your success in solving the Labyrinth, Christine." James answered. "So we don't have to worry about Sarah and Javert."

"I know how to get to the Goblin City. And the sooner we solve the Labyrinth, the sooner I'm rid of you." Hoggle said.

"Someone isn't having a good day." James whispered to Erik and Christine.

"Well, he can get in line." Christine replied.

**XxX**

Jareth had barely managed to send Christine to the Bog of Eternal Stench before Raoul came crashing through the forest towards him. Jareth raised one unusually shaped eyebrow at the firey head that was aggressively gnawing on Raoul's left ankle.

"Having fun?" the monarch asked.

Raoul frowned. "I've decided that I am drunk and having the most severe of hallucinations."

"And how do you explain the head trying to eat your foot?" Jareth asked.

"Rabid raccoon." Raoul responded.

"Alright then. Are you ready to head back to my castle which is safe and free of rabid raccoons?" Jareth asked.

"Yes. Very much so." Raoul said. "And, if at all possible, I would like a room with a bed where I could sleep off my intoxication and I would like to never see a black chicken again."

"I agree with you there." Jareth said. He'd also like it if he never saw another black chicken again either. He was fond of the idea of Raoul sleeping off the rest of the thirteen hours as well. It would get the Frenchman out of his hair. Although, from what Jareth's spies had gathered, Raoul was actually pretty good at assassinating chickens.

**TBC**

What happened to Sarah and Javert will be in the next chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

**Consequences of Thoughtless Wishing**

_Dark Lady Devinity_

**An:** The goblins in the Labyrinth movie always reminded me of different ethnicities. The goblins attacking Ludo in his first scene, for example, were Japanese. But there's dialogue to support that. For some odd reason, the goblin that was piloting the robot at the gates to the Goblin City always looked like an odd, tiny Mongolian to me. Just pointing that out.

And I finally saw a live performance of Weber's Phantom of the Opera so I now know what actually happens in it. Although I really wanted the Persian to be in it even though I haven't read the book so I know nothing about him.

Last chapter!

**Five**

Christine yawned. The soprano couldn't remember the last time she had gone this long without food or a proper rest. No one wanted to take a nap when Jareth had such skill with manipulating dreams and everyone remembered Sarah's many rants about drugged food.

"We're here." Hoggle said, interrupting Christine's thoughts about food. The singer looked up to find herself outside the gates to the Goblin City.

"And with five hours to spare." James said. "Hopefully a goblin battle doesn't take long to fight."

"We would have had more time if the three of you hadn't fallen into three separate oubliettes, all at the same time." Hoggle muttered. "Or gotten into a fight with a horde of guards. And then there was Erik's fight with the wise man's hat. I'm too old for this."

James and Erik both looked embarrassed. Yet Christine looked merely thoughtful.

"It seems like the more runners in the Labyrinth the more chaos. Jareth must be working extra hard to eliminate any advantage to be found in large numbers." The woman said.

Hoggle sighed. "The Labyrinth was always a tricky place if you weren't familiar with it. But it had never known defeat until Sarah either. The Labyrinth itself is trying to be substantially more treacherous now. I cannot say if it's possible to solve the Labyrinth any more. It's even got the goblins trying their best."

"Well, then it's a good thing Sarah had Ludo and Sir Didymus go on ahead." Christine said nervously.

"You have obviously never met Didymus." Hoggle groaned. The dwarf was extremely pessimistic.

James looked at the worried soprano and gave her hand a quick squeeze. Erik did the same. Then both men silently went forward and pushed open the gates. Christine and Hoggle followed close behind. A few feet ahead of them lay another gate. Pieces of debris littered the space between the gates.

James stepped around the decapitated remains of a giant robotic head. It was now, when they were this close to the castle, that things would be the most dangerous. Everyone would have to be prepared to keep Christine safe until she reached the castle. If Ludo and Sir Didymus had managed to secure the city then that part of the journey should not be too hazardous. But James could hear a constant noise, a dull roar, which suggested otherwise. He hoped it was another chicken rebellion as that would keep both Jareth and the goblins occupied. As he was thinking, James was suddenly attacked. A sharp pain pierced his ankle. James swore and stepped back as he quickly realised he had been assaulted by a goblin.

"Are you alright James?" Christine asked.

"Fine." James gritted out. "Erik, help me get this thing off of my leg."

The sailor swung his leg around so that the others could see the Mongolian-like goblin with its teeth buried into James' ankle. The goblin was dressed like a pilot. Erik was already rushing to James' aid when the goblin let go and pointed at Hoggle, gasping "You! You broke my robot!"

Hoggle barked, "You! Do you want me to throw you out of another robot?!"

The little goblin squeaked and ran away, fearing for its life.

"That was anti-climactic." Erik commented.

"Expect the un-expectable." Hoggle said, sighing. Then he added, "Just to be on the safe side, expect the expectable too."

"That's helpful advice." Erik said sarcastically.

Christine merely shook her head and walked straight through the gates and into the city proper. Then she promptly ducked to avoid the cannon ball that was headed straight for her.

**XxX**

Sarah swung her body around a precarious pile of junk. Javert followed behind her with less grace. It had been a while since the duo had last seen their companions. If they were lucky, Ludo and Sir Didymus had already secured the Goblin City while Christine, Erik, James and Hoggle were on their way towards the city. Jareth had ignored Sarah and Javert and appeared to be letting the small team do whatever they wanted. They certainly hadn't seen the king in some time. Still, it was possible that Jareth was just as confused as Javert as to what Sarah was up to. Sarah had insisted on finding the junkyard even though she didn't know the way. Sarah had simply found herself in the junkyard the first time upon waking up from her drugged peach induced dream. They had lost a lot of time searching for the place. Yet Sarah was triumphant now that they were there.

"Drugged or not, I can find anything in this Labyrinth a second time." Sarah had proclaimed, pleased.

"I just hope we didn't waste too much time coming here." Javert murmured. Now that they had arrived at their destination, Javert wanted to know why they were there. He quickly asked Sarah what she was looking for while narrowing avoiding a pile of junk that had turned out to be a person.

Sarah blinked at the question, ignoring the swearing bag lady. "Do you remember the junkyard scene in my movie? There was a replica of my bedroom." The woman barely paused long enough for Javert to nod. "Hopefully, there's a replica of my current room here. Although it's most likely it will be Christine's if there is. I can work with that though."

"Why?" Javert asked.

"If there is a replica of either room then there are replicas of our mirrors. My mirror has frequently been used for travel to and from the Labyrinth so it has more magical properties. Although the Darkness did use Christine's to visit her. My Labyrinth friends can use any mirrored surface to travel between the two worlds but I'm not sure if I can do the same. Still, my proper mirror should work." Sarah said. She looked at Javert. "I want to use my mirror to contact the aboveground. I saw how Hoggle took us through the mirror and at least Legolas should be waiting in the apartment for our return."

"Why would you want to contact Legolas?" Javert asked.

Sarah grinned. "It's not about contacting Legolas. It's about whom we can get Legolas to contact. I want to talk to Dresden."

**XxX**

The streets were already rowdy with violence and the typical silliness of a goblin battle. And Christine hadn't even arrived yet. Jareth was impressed. It was, of course, Didymus' fault that such an intense fight had already broken out. He wanted to spare Christine, a delicate lady, the troubles of honourable battle. Jareth still did not know how one tiny creature could annoy a whole city so quickly. Ludo and his rock friends were once again proving a nuisance. Still, Jareth had learned from the last battle with the large, orange monster and had had the city fortified against rocks when he was fortifying it against rebellious chickens.

Soft footsteps alerted Jareth to the fact that a non-goblin had just entered his throne room. The king looked up to see a sleepy Frenchman with serious bedhead standing in the room's entranceway.

"What's all that noise?" Raoul asked, yawning.

"Just a battle. It is of little concern." Jareth said.

Raoul frowned. "You're not concerned about fighting in your streets?"

"It's part of the story. But the heroine isn't here yet so there's no need for my act yet." Jareth explained.

The information did not faze the viscount. Once Raoul had decided to pretend he was trapped in a disturbing dream he was not bothered by anything his captor said. It made the Frenchman almost pleasant to be around. Jareth vaguely wondered if that thought counted as a betrayal of his friendship with Erik and then decided that he didn't care. Erik shouldn't have kidnapped Sarah if he didn't want his roommate to be on friendly terms with his rival.

"You talk like this is some story book." Raoul said, settling down on the edge of the pit in the throne room.

"More or less." Jareth said. The goblin king had moved on to thoughts about how Christine and Raoul would handle the Escher room, if the story progressed that far. Toby had been an infant and thus was not made frail by knowledge of gravity. And if it did get that far… what was Jareth going to sing for Christine as she tried desperately to reach her lover? He would have to be present for that part of the tale, of course, and his tale was a musical. So far he had been avoiding his friends. Although it would have been amusing to toss Raoul into the air for a goblin to catch.

Suddenly a goblin burst into the room, weaving about frantically. Raoul jumped in shock but Jareth merely raised an eyebrow. He wondered if the goblins were going to do this every time someone made it to the city.

"The girl is here! And she has the sailor, the dwarf and a very creepy man with her!" the goblin cried. "There was rope!"

'Thank you Erik for terrorizing the goblins.' Jareth thought sarcastically. Aloud he said, "Well? Stop her."

"What girl?" Raoul asked.

"Oh, it's not that important." Jareth lied.

**XxX**

"So you'll contact him?" Sarah asked.

Dresden nodded. "Yes. It shouldn't take long to do as you asked."

"Good." Sarah said.

Dresden's image faded from the mirror. The reflection of Christine's room never left. Sarah had found a false room for Christine and had been able to contact someone from the other world.

"Do you think this will work?" Javert asked.

Sarah shrugged. "I don' know. But we can't just assume that Christine is capable of defeating Jareth either. And that's the part she has to do on her own." Sarah said. "We're not far from the Goblin City now. I just hope we can get by that bag lady quickly. They're pushy."

The whole time the duo had been in Christine's fake room a bag lady had been banging on the locked door screaming "This isn't your illusion! Get out! Get out! Get out!"

**XxX**

"What did Didymus do?!" Hoggle cried.

The quartet had emerged into the city proper only to be faced with a long line of soldiers awaiting them. One of the soldiers had brought a cannon along with him.

"He must have announced that we were coming." James said, wishing he had his sword. Apparently that was a wish that Jareth was choosing to ignore.

"I hate this place." Erik grumbled.

Then James and Erik launched themselves at the soldiers. Christine winced but she didn't have the time to help. The moment an opening appeared in the fight the singer ran through it with Hoggle had her heels. The dwarf grabbed her hand and started to pull her in the direction of least fighting. A loud roar rumbled from farther inside the city and a neat line of rocks rolled in through the gates that Christine had just left.

"At least Ludo is doing something sensible." Hoggle said.

"How am I supposed to get through all this?" Christine cried.

The dwarf shrugged in response. The rocks were doing their best to help but the Goblin City had been ready for them. Christine would have to come up with a different solution.

In the dust and confusion, Christine didn't even know which way to turn. She felt desperation growing in her mind but she couldn't give up. A small rock came and nudged her foot before rolling away. The soprano blankly watched as the rock rolled down a path and landed deliberately under a goblin soldier's foot, tripping the goblin. Then she realised: Christine would have to play a role that always belonged to men in her time period. She would have to cast aside the damsel in distress and fight with the determination of the hero.

At least she wouldn't have to wield a sword. No sense in accidently stabbing herself.

**XxX**

Filthy and badly scratched up, Christine finally made it to the castle itself. James, Erik, Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus all came to join her side. A silence had settled on the city.

James looked at his watch. "We spent to long fighting. There's only five minutes left."

Christine swallowed. "I'm still going in. Maybe I'll find Jareth in time."

She didn't know that that was not nearly enough time. For she didn't know the right words to defeat Jareth. And then the first cry of a clock striking twelve- or thirteen as the case may be- rang across the Labyrinth.

**XxX**

Christine may not have known the right words or have the time to find them but Sarah knew what to do. Although she tried to play down the amount of attention she gave Jareth, Sarah had still learned from him. Therefore she wasn't surprised when Dresden pulled through and a white mage stood before her.

"Hello Merlin." Sarah said and Javert nodded a greeting.

"Good day my dears." Merlin said good-naturedly. "What can I do for you?"

Sarah smiled. "I'd like to reorder time please."

**XxX**

Raoul was freaking out while she was trying to think. Finally, Christine couldn't take it anymore and, without her thinking on it, the words "I wish the goblins…" had started to slip out of her mouth.

"Stop!" yelled a strong French voice as a delicate hand slapped itself over Christine's mouth.

"No wishes for you." Sarah said tiredly before removing her hand from Christine's mouth.

Christine and Raoul both blinked at the sudden appearance of Sarah, Javert and an old man in wizard's robes.

"Sarah? But I thought that Erik kidnapped you?" Christine asked.

"Yes he did. Go save me." Sarah responded quickly. "I'm still tied to a post on the roof right now."

"And do not make any wishes while you're at it." Javert responded.

"Huh?" Christine asked. None of this was making any sense.

The magician in the middle of the living room just smiled cheerfully. "I think this worked out rather well, don't you? Anyway, we'll know our little time spell has done the job when you two disappear from this reality. You can't exist if the events that caused your existence did not happen after all."

As soon as the wizard finished speaking, Sarah and Javert started to disappear. When they were gone, Christine and Raoul shared a bewildered look. The magician just laughed merrily before teleporting away.

"HUH!?"

**XxX**

Jareth watched it all in his crystal ball, untouched by time in his kingdom. Others may have been able to reorder time in the Labyrinth but they could not do so to the king himself without his permission. The Goblin King approved of Sarah's plan to contact Dresden and have the wizard contact any associates with time altering magic. As Christine had never made her wish due to Sarah's supernatural intervention then no one needed to run the castle to save the viscount. Jareth stood, pleased with events, and prepared himself to actually go and save his beloved.

And perhaps those foolish mortals will someday learn the consequences of thoughtless wishing.

**END**

**An:** I think this seems a little rushed but I have no idea how to write action scenes. So no Goblin City battle for you. Feel free to imagine as many battle shenanigans as you want.

I really believe in the whole 'only Sarah can beat the Labyrinth' idea. Because it's a story and stories never change how many times you read them. Therefore, the only one who can beat the Labyrinth is someone who the Goblin King loves: that was the story Sarah told Toby and then the story she lived. As the heroine had to face the king alone, Christine couldn't take Sarah all the way with her. But I wanted a happy ending. So I hope magic time-altering adventures don't seem like too much of a cop out. I personally rather like Sarah's solution.

Thanks for reading.

Also, loving the current Girls Next Door arc.


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